Dental floss has been found to be useful in controlling gum diseases, reducing bad breath, and helping in plaque removal. Therefore, it is logical that more and more people look for a method for using floss which has a more effective flossing action and is more comfortable to use.
Over time many different approaches and techniques have been used in the development of floss devices. The prior art relates to the development of many devices, ranging from simple spool-like products to complex floss applicators comprising storage chambers.
Two types of inter-dental cleaning devices exist: the first are hard devices, such as tooth-picks; and the second are dental filament devices, such as dental floss and products comprising it.
The use of floss holders consisting basically of common structural designs with (mainly) a single linear floss, is well known in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,132 discloses an individual flossing loop, and a cascade of said loops, which may be easily detached from one another. U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,539 relates to a dental floss comprised of a first portion of conventional dental floss, and a thicker second portion having means for retaining antiseptics. U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,417 relates to a flossing mouthpiece for simultaneously flossing a plurality of spaces between adjacent teeth. US 2001/0029962 relates to a dental floss that has a high strength inner core and an outer layer or wrapped sheath. U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,027 relates to an extensible monofilament dental floss, which undergoes a permanent deformation prior to use. US 2003/0230319 relates to a flavor-enhanced dental floss that provides a long lasting release of flavor and/or additional chemicals for providing supplementary therapeutic or cosmetic effects.
Only few publications relate to further unique possibilities. Among them, U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,992 relates to a dental flossing device comprising an elongated arched bow with two integrated floss loops stretched between the arch hands. GB 2349338 relates to an inter-dental cleaning filament comprising one or more closed floss loops. U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,559 relates to a U-shaped dental floss device having a plurality of parallel flosses.
All of the known flossing devices of the prior art are disadvantageous in that they need to be maneuvered, thus making them uncomfortable to use, they are time consuming and they have limited effectiveness/surface contact.
It is, thus, an object of the present invention to provide a new dental flossing device which has the advantages of the well-known existing flossing devices together with additional novel features, resulting in a device with superior flossing action. The device of the invention fills the inter-proximal space most efficiently hence the efficiency of the floss is improved, while minimizing the users handling. The novel features of the device include, but are not limited to, relatively easy development, easy & cheap manufacturing, distinctively improving the teeth surface area contact and is ergonomically advantageous.
It is an important object of the invention to clean both the inter-proximal space and the surface of both teeth surrounding the space.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel dental flossing device, comprising a floss portion in the shape of the numeral eight and a gripping or maneuvering extension portion, for removing food and debris from between teeth and crowns, and for delivering medical and/or cosmetic agents to the inter-proximal spaces.
In yet another object of this invention, the flossing portion rotates, via a connector that connects it to the gripping or maneuvering extension potion, as it works in the inter-proximal space between adjacent teeth.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method for producing said flossing device.
Other objects and advantages of present invention will appear as description proceeds.